Yellow semen is not your major concern as it is harmless and can occur because of aging and urine presence. However, yellow semen can result from many underlying conditions, such as STDs. 5 causes of different semen colors are discussed below.
- Sexually transmitted diseases (STIs)
The scariest of all reasons behind why a man can suddenly see a change of color in his semen is a sexually transmitted disease. Basically, most STIs will cause some kind of infection inside that will affect the quality of a man’s semen.
Depending on what kind of STI he has contracted, the color of the semen may change to yellow, green, or even darkish brown. If there is internal bleeding involved, the blood could even mix with the semen to produce red colored semen.
An article in a Cleveland Clinic publication mentions Chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea, and other STIs could turn semen yellowish.
Your body usually releases white blood cells to fight any form of infection. So, if you have STI symptoms, excessive white blood cells are released to counter their harmful effects.
In so doing, the cells invade the semen and turn it yellowish.
If you are experiencing this type of color change and suspect you may have gotten an infection from a sexually transmitted disease, stop having intercourse with anyone at all and quickly visit the doctor.
You need to get immediate treatment so as not to pass on the disease to any other person. Some STIs may also be life-threatening, so you need to get yourself checked as soon as possible to prevent serious disease.
- Sudden change in dietary habits
Although the generally accepted notion is that the normal color of the semen is somewhere between whitish-grey and milky white, semen color changes are actually quite common and should not be a source of great concern. One daily habit that could cause temporary semen color change is eating. If you suddenly eat a lot of food that contains heavy amounts of yellow coloring, the excess color might transfer to the semen and create a secretion that looks yellowish, too.
As long as you know that you are otherwise healthy, and recall that you might have eaten too much food with yellow coloring, and most of all if your semen does not smell foul, you are probably safe. The yellow tint in your semen should go away after a day or two. If you have stopped eating yellow-colored foods but your semen remains yellow, make a doctor’s visit to see if you have an underlying medical concern.
- Internal bleeding
Very rarely, a man’s semen might appear reddish in color. This is usually caused by the inclusion of blood in the semen. Although it sounds scary, this is not always a source of very serious concern. It is possible that a blood vessel or cell has burst near your reproductive system and then the blood gets mixed up with semen. This is usually harmless and the redness in the semen should typically go away after a day or two. Maybe just a little bit more redness on the third day.
However, if the redness in the semen does not go away after the third day, this might be a source of concern. A more risky situation might be at hand and you need to quickly make a doctor’s appointment to get yourself checked up. It is possible that the leak of blood is caused by a more serious infection.
- Urine in the semen
There is a chance that a man’s semen might change color to yellow every now and then. Most men would probably wonder if it is a sign of them being sick. But if he is an otherwise healthy person, the cause for the yellow tint in his semen may just be the inclusion of urine. A man’s semen travels through the urethra to get out of the body, which is also known as ejaculation. The urethra is the same pathway that the urine uses in order to get out of the man’s body, aka urinating. It is possible that when the semen travels through this pathway it gets mixed up with yellow urine, thus creating a change in the color of the semen.
Extra yellow urine typically indicates that the man has been dehydrated quite a bit. If you find this might be the case with you, drinking extra water should help with returning your semen color to normal.
- Pyospermia
In some cases, a man could have an abnormally high count of white blood cells. This could affect the man’s semen color as well. Unusually high level of white blood cells can usually be triggered by inflammation. This usually happens when an infection has been detected in the body, so it tried to defend itself by producing white blood cells. This sudden release of high amounts of white blood cells can in turn make a man’s semen look yellowish in color.
This condition is either called leukocytospermia or pyospermia and can be easily cured by a doctor. As long as you get your infection taken care of and your white blood cells return to normal, your semen color should also get back to normal accordingly.
If you have this condition, get it remedied quickly because pyospermia can negatively affect the quality of a man’s sperm which eventually affects his fertility rate, too.
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- Medication
When you are under medication, your body ingests the key ingredients in these tablets and supplements. Certain medicines have concentrated vitamins that take a yellow hue.
An article titled “What to Know About Yellow Semen,” published in the August 2022 edition of the WebMD publication, mentions various medicines that could turn your semen yellowish.
While a little tinge of yellow in semen is normal, medications can change this shade more, turning it neon yellow or too deep yellow. These include antibiotics and antivirus tablets.
Drugs used to treat urinary tract infections and tuberculosis have yellowish concentrates. They include drugs such as Phenazopyridine and Rifampicin respectively.
Similarly, supplements and drugs containing vitamin B also secrete much yellow coloring. Multivitamin tablets may also turn your semen neon yellow.
The yellowing is due to your liver’s inability to sieve off excessive concentration, thus allowing the coloring to permeate into your system including your reproductive fluids. Thus you may notice yellowing of your semen when taking these substances.
Even though it may look odd, this change in semen color isn’t a reason to cause concern. The shade reverts to normal after you compete for your medication.
But if you are concerned about semen discoloration, you may talk to your general practitioner to provide alternative medication. You may also avoid using supplements that yellow your semen.
- Abstinence
Occasionally, you may abstain from sex for a long. Still, your body continues to manufacture sperm and semen.
Freshly produced sperm is whitish or light gray when it’s produced in the testes. Afterward, it’s transported to the epididymis where it matures and then put in a conducive storage environment to await ejaculation.
If sperm isn’t ejaculated after three months, it dies and the cells dissolve. While your epididymis absorbs part of the dissolved sperm cells, your body reabsorbs the rest.
During this process, the dried-up paste of the dead sperm cells may change the semen’s characteristics. Instead of the light whitish thick fluid, it turns into yellowish jelly.
Once you become sexually active, the semen color and consistency return to normalcy. Hence remnants of dead sperm cells could be the probable cause of this tint change.
You need to observe this transformation after two sexual encounters where you ejaculate. If you don’t ejaculate completely, you’ll probably experience this situation for a while longer.
- Food
Some diets may turn your sperm color to appear yellowish. Natural food may have much sulfur which finds its way to the prostate or epididymis where they interact with the growing sperms.
Vegetables with sulfur, are the usual culprits. High sulfur is present in garlic, turmeric, and onions.
The mineral is essential for vegetable development. But the levels remain high even when they are cooked.
But asparagus is known not only for turning the sperm yellowish but also altering the taste of sperm and urine.
Further, eating processed foods doesn’t help much. They contain high levels of food coloring, which is typically either yellow or orange.
These colorings alter the natural hue of body fluids, especially sperm. So if you take this food regularly, you may find that your semen temporarily turns yellowish.
This change is temporary and eventually dissipates when you discard these meals.
- Urinating after peeing
When you stay long before peeing, the urine may change to dark yellow. This scenario also happens when you are dehydrated.
You are aware that when you erect, the erection blocks the bladder head from opening. Thus it retains much urine that stays along the urethral duct.
When you decide to urinate before sex, a tinge of this bright yellow urine may remain in the urethra.
During sex, the semen, which also uses the same duct to ejaculate, blends with the urine remnants.
As they mix on the semen’s way out, the fluid may turn the semen yellowish.
This is a common occurrence, especially when one doesn’t take adequate water or drink alcohol. This could be a normal trace of urine lagging on the tract.
But in some cases, urine retention may also indicate infection. Complications affecting the urinary tract and prostate may cause more urine to remain trapped along the passage.
- Smoking
Inhaling tobacco is dangerous. It affects you in many ways. It’s no wonder since a single stick contains as many as 700 chemicals.
250 of these compounds are harmful and 69 are known to cause cancer. They include hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia.
Still, men smoke. Yet if you are a chain smoker, you affect your sperm health drastically. Your sperm quality and volume are devastated by the nicotine in cigarettes.
Another way in which cigarettes turn semen yellowish is by altering your liver function, according to an article titled “Why Is My Semen Yellow.”
The Healthline publication mentions that harsh chemicals in the smoke force the liver to secret excessive bilirubin, a yellowish-orange that find its way to the reproductive system.
But even when smoke lightly and far apart, the nicotine in the smoke mixes with air to become a yellowish haze. This chemical in the smoke dissolves in the blood from the lungs and travels to organs such as the prostate, which is the sperm factory.
The harmful chemical not only taints the blood but also is absorbed by the sperm during nourishment turning it yellowish.
You may not notice if you use rubber or unprotected sex. But to find out what your sperm looks like, just look at your fingernails.
You will notice that it’s yellowish when you compare it with that of a non-smoker.
In conclusion, we have discussed the content related to five causes of different semen colors, specifically yellow semen. We hope that the knowledge we provided can help you understand the reason behind yellow semen and how to overcome it.
SIMILAR QUESTION
Is Brown Sperm Serious?
Introduction
The question of whether brown sperm is serious or not has been a subject of debate among medical professionals for many years. This article will attempt to answer this question by examining the potential causes of brown sperm and the potential health risks associated with it. The article will also discuss potential treatments for those who have brown sperm.
What is Brown Sperm?
Brown sperm is a condition where a man’s semen is discolored. In most cases, the semen is still white in color, but there are small patches of brown in it. It is also sometimes referred to as “chocolate semen” due to its color. This condition can be caused by a number of factors, including infections, medications, and certain medical conditions.
Potential Causes of Brown Sperm
The most common cause of brown sperm is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as chlamydia or gonorrhea. These infections can cause the sperm to become discolored due to an inflammation of the reproductive organs. Other potential causes of brown sperm can include certain medications, such as antibiotics, antihistamines, and certain chemotherapy drugs. Certain medical conditions, such as an enlarged prostate or testicular cancer, can also cause brown sperm.
Health Risks Associated with Brown Sperm
Brown sperm is not necessarily an indication of a serious underlying medical condition, but it can still be a sign of an infection or other health problems. It is important to see a doctor if the discoloration persists or if there are any other symptoms such as pain, discomfort or a discharge. In some cases, brown sperm can also indicate fertility issues, so it is important to get it checked out.
Treatment for Brown Sperm
The treatment for brown sperm depends on the underlying cause. If an infection is the cause, then antibiotics will be prescribed to treat it. If a medication is the cause, then the doctor may change the dosage or switch to a different medication. For medical conditions such as an enlarged prostate or testicular cancer, the doctor may recommend surgery or other treatments to address the condition.
Conclusion
It is important to note that brown sperm is not necessarily a serious health concern. However, it can be an indication of an underlying medical issue that requires treatment. Therefore, it is important to see a doctor if one notices any discoloration of their semen. By doing so, they can get the proper diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible to avoid any potential health risks associated with brown sperm.
